Xbox 720 May Feature PC-Like Customization

[RhombusHatesYou]

If Microsoft does use this technology in their next console, I'm curious whether these customization options will be available to end users.

Highly doubtful... from the sounds of the tech and going with it being microsoft, it sounds like they're looking at making it as cheap and easy for them to push out revision/updated models as either sales start flagging or tech demands require.

Also, with MS being MS, if they did allow for modular expansion, they'd make sure only OFFICIAL MS APPROVED hardware could be used and charge a premium for it... and if their HDDs are any indication that means a 50-100% mark up on identical PC hardware, which is big bickies if you're talking CPUs or GPUs... at which point they may as well just slap a bitten fruit sticker on the side and market it to hipsters.

 

[ChildishLegacy]

Hrm, seems like they're just giving the Xbox the "drawbacks" of a PC?
I thought the advantage of a console was no matter how far on the game was developed, if it was developed for your console you KNOW you could run it and run it "well". Now it sounds like it's going to have the PCs way of doing things which is "can't run it? Upgrade!" (which I'm fine with, I'd say I'm a 95% PC gamer at this point). But if I bought a console and 5 years down the line I have performance issues with a game designed to run on my system, I would NOT be happy.

If this is how it turns out, I would advise people to go PC, because they're just throwing the console advantages out the window.

 

[Baresark]

Stop stop stop stop. This is not true. There is not way that MS would ever allow anything like that. Or at absolute best, you have to send it to them so they can do it for you, for a ridiculous price. Haha, I'll stick to my PC where at least when I upgrade, I have a ridiculous number of ways to upgrade. And I can shop around for the best price.

 

[Robert Ewing]

Why don't you just get a PC? It will be like the 720, but with less of microsofts bullshittery.

 

[Gather]

Huh, so we can upgrade our X-Box as we wish? I wouldn't be surprised if Microsoft will try and have a pincer tight grip on the components that can be upgraded; I might even jump to the conclusion that much like how Apple has cornered the computer market with their "ONLY OUR PARTS WORK ON OUR COMPUTER" style of work I wouldn't be surprised if this went through the next X-Box will have a simliar limitation (Only custom made hardware patented by Microsoft will work with the console).

Looking forward to the X-Box i60.

 

[The White Hunter]

So... It's a closed system PC? And therefor not really defendable as a viable option over a PC?... Silly Microsoft.

I'd defo turn to the PC before lapping this up.

EDIT: If it was incredibly simple to upgrade, and cheap to do so, it could be feasible as a very lazy mans PC. But still.

 

[BrotherRool]

I feel your tone is quite aggressive towards opinions of people who differ from yourself.

My tone?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xbox_360_hardware

XBOX always was based on PC hardware, the basic selling point is that due to it being standardized hardware it is more reliable than a persons quite non-standardized) PC.

Of course, most people are not geeky so they don't look at specs, so they tend to not realize the physical hardware they run. Unlike PS3 which has a rather different design, being a vector processor basically.

But why would you feel threatened by my text based comment is beyond me ... Oh I see, assumptions.

That was cool, you talked about both sides, didn't ignore the pros, made allowances for people like me who aren't clever enough to know this stuff Rereading your comment I took it to be more harshly toned than it was

Someone got their console jimmies well and truly rustled. Did mean old Jim rustle your jimmies with his opinion about the new disadvantages of console gaming? Can we un-rustle them somehow?

As time goes on and consoles become more powerful consoles tend more and more to the capabilities of PCs. The ideal state of a console would seem to be a PC. Its the same story with pones and smartphones. The more features you give a device, the more it becomes like a PC. Therefore the advantages console gaming has over PC gaming have all but evaporated over time as they have to implement the same systems a PC has.

It's never been a power metric though has it? The advantage of a console is its cheap standardised discounted hardware that will play the games as intended, doesn't have so much muckware between developers and making the actual game run, less variability to break and a more streamlined user experience. You don't have to update drivers, constantly reconfigure games, it's cheaper than a PC and guarantees that you can run all the big games for the next five years, despite not having any specialist knowledge. Maintenance is easier (ie non existent) and the default controller designed for is more amenable to certain types of games

It's a tradeoff but I don't see that being a tradeoff that would change over time, the only time a console would tend towards PCs is if PCs become more reliable and it becomes easier to get a game working (which I think it is). In any case this headline is still kinda hype, they're working towards more flexibile consoles where people can do more (because the fundamental is that people don't want to be messing around switching from machine to machine) but there's no sign they're going to allow the depth of control that messes with the nice standardised reliability. As far as I read this is still more about getting other safely enclosed apps and features as well, not to have a fully kitted out PC

 

[lacktheknack]

Queue the bloody tears of every dev's optimization team. The lack of console customization was the only thing keeping them getting up in the morning!

 

[PingoBlack]

That was cool, you talked about both sides, didn't ignore the pros, made allowances for people like me who aren't clever enough to know this stuff Rereading your comment I took it to be more harshly toned than it was

Yeah, text is evil that way. I also sometimes tend to write down posts too short, like people can hear my tone.

And honestly ... This is all guesswork, but I surely hope we are wrong. I mean, people are making micro consoles to run Android games on your TV. And I hear XBL is very popular. So from that you could think console users don't like the annoyance of managing their device.

 

[shintakie10]

If Microsoft does use this technology in their next console, I'm curious whether these customization options will be available to end users.

Highly doubtful... from the sounds of the tech and going with it being microsoft, it sounds like they're looking at making it as cheap and easy for them to push out revision/updated models as either sales start flagging or tech demands require.

Also, with MS being MS, if they did allow for modular expansion, they'd make sure only OFFICIAL MS APPROVED hardware could be used and charge a premium for it... and if their HDDs are any indication that means a 50-100% mark up on identical PC hardware, which is big bickies if you're talking CPUs or GPUs... at which point they may as well just slap a bitten fruit sticker on the side and market it to hipsters.

You think their hard drives were horrendously marked up? Hah. Try their shitty ass wireless adapter before they put it into the system. 100 dollars for somethin that had a terrible connection rate and was unreliable at the best of times. At least the hard drives actually worked when you bought a new one.

 

[NinthPlanet86]

The reason why patents were introduced was to stop big companies throwing their weight around. Without them anyone coming up with a new idea that works, the large companies would just simply copy it and not pay the inventor anything. Who do you think would win in straight sales battle between a small start up and, lets say, Microsoft.

The trouble with patents is that they don't quite achieve the ends you have mentioned. First of all, patents take several years from being submitted to being published. This delay makes it possible for a competitor to publish a patent for something that is indistinguishable from the first patent pending. Worse still, the second company may even be using their patent before the first is published (such is the pace of new technology). This culminates in the kind of horrific patent disputes that have been in the news of late.

The second problem with patents is that a US patent is not valid worldwide. One has to apply for a worldwide patent. This takes even longer and at an even higher cost, which makes it prohibitive for a small inventor.

The third problem is one that the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) is trying to get to grips with. There are several patented standards that are required for mobile devices to communicate with each other. These are supposed to be subject to an agreement that seeks to keep costs reasonable for third parties using those patents. Instead, several companies have been using their patents to impinge a competitor.

In summary, patents desperately need a major overhaul, because they are stifling innovation. The only people who benefit are lawyers.

 

[RhombusHatesYou]

Queue the bloody tears of every dev's optimization team. The lack of console customization was the only thing keeping them getting up in the morning!

Yeah but doing away with optimisation would save untold millions of dollars a year on game development that publishers could then conveniently not pass on to the consumer.

 

[lacktheknack]

Queue the bloody tears of every dev's optimization team. The lack of console customization was the only thing keeping them getting up in the morning!

Yeah but doing away with optimisation would save untold millions of dollars a year on game development that publishers could then conveniently not pass on to the consumer.

I'm not sure I follow.

 

[Maxtro]

The PS3 already allows users to upgrade the HDD. I really don't see how adding a RAM stick would be such a big deal. And it's not like it hasn't been done before.

 

[GiantRaven]

The PS3 already allows users to upgrade the HDD. I really don't see how adding a RAM stick would be such a big deal. And it's not like it hasn't been done before.

The problem is that if you don't have the upgrade then you can't play the games that require it. With your expansion pak example - having an N64 but not being able to play Perfect Dark, Majora's Mask and Donkey Kong 64 would be pretty damn shitty.

 

[vxicepickxv]

The PS3 already allows users to upgrade the HDD. I really don't see how adding a RAM stick would be such a big deal. And it's not like it hasn't been done before.

The problem is that if you don't have the upgrade then you can't play the games that require it. With your expansion pak example - having an N64 but not being able to play Perfect Dark, Majora's Mask and Donkey Kong 64 would be pretty damn shitty.

I forgot about that one, I was thinking of one even older, for a worse system.

 

[iniudan]

Nintendo also had another upgrade in the works which I do not think ever happened. It involved an upgrade to a 'zip disk' type media called the DD64 (disk drive) if I remember correctly.

Actually the DD64 was release, but only in Japan, but the production didn't last long.

 

[RhombusHatesYou]

Queue the bloody tears of every dev's optimization team. The lack of console customization was the only thing keeping them getting up in the morning!

Yeah but doing away with optimisation would save untold millions of dollars a year on game development that publishers could then conveniently not pass on to the consumer.

I'm not sure I follow.

Then be sure and catch up.